Showing papers by "Giuseppe Coppola published in 2011"

Intracytoplasmic injection of morphologically selected spermatozoa (IMSI) improves outcome after assisted reproduction by deselecting physiologically poor quality spermatozoa.

Abstract: Purpose We used computer assisted sperm selection (MSOME) during cycles of intracytoplasmic sperm injection to test whether this technique improves results over traditional ICSI protocols. We also used the TUNEL assay to test whether MSOME could deselect physiologically abnormal spermatozoa.

Advance in thermo-optical switches: principles, materials, design, and device structure

Abstract: All-optical networking can be the sole approach to provide the huge bandwidth required for future networks The essential elements in such an optical network are optical switches A number of options have been proposed in order to implement them efficiently We focus on thermo-optical switches First, the physical principles of the thermo-optic effect are briefly introduced A description of the most common technologies used for the fabrication of thermo-optic switches is provided along with the values of thermo-optic coefficient for a number of materials The main steps useful in order to design thermo-optical switches are also briefly introduced Finally, a bird's-eye view of the main and recent proposals of switches based on the thermo-optic effect is reported and their performances compared

Identification of bovine sperm head for morphometry analysis in quantitative phase-contrast holographic microscopy

Abstract: An investigation is reported of the identification and measurement of region of interest (ROI) in quantitative phase-contrast maps of biological cells by digital holographic microscopy. In particular, two different methods have been developed for in vitro bull sperm head morphometry analysis. We show that semen analysis can be accomplished by means of the proposed techniques . Extraction and measurement of various parameters are performed. It is demonstrated that both proposed methods are efficient to skim the data set in a preselective analysis for discarding anomalous data.

Electro-optical modulation at 1550 nm in an as-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n waveguiding device.

Abstract: Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has been already considered for the objective of passive optical elements, like waveguides and ring resonators, within photonic integrated circuits at λ = 1.55 μm. However the study of its electro-optical properties is still at an early stage, therefore this semiconductor in practice is not considered for light modulation as yet. We demonstrated, for the first time, effective electro-optical modulation in a reverse biased a-Si:H p-i-n waveguiding structure. In particular, phase modulation was studied in a waveguide integrated Fabry-Perot resonator in which the Vπ⋅Lπ product was determined to be 63 V⋅cm. Characteristic switch-on and switch-off times of 14 ns were measured. The device employed a wider gap amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) film for the lower cladding layer instead of silicon oxide. In this way the highest temperature involved in the fabrication process was 170°C, which ensured the desired technological compatibility with CMOS processes.

Detection and visualization improvement of Spermatozoa cells by Digital Holography

Abstract: Numerical analysis is implemented to investigate biological sample starting from Digital Holographic (DH) recording. The aim is to improve visualization and detection of cow spermatozoa. Digital holograms are recorded in the off-axis geometry where optical setup is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Then holograms are numerically manipulated to retrieve, besides the usual Quantitative Phase Map (QPM), Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) visualization. Furthermore, a new approach , named digital self-referencing holography, is described it’s able to accomplish quantitative phase analysis especially useful for specimen flowing in microfluidic channels.

Physiological IMSI (pIMSI) Improves Results Obtained with IMSI in Patients with Idiopathic Infertility

Abstract: Study Background: Intracytoplasmic morphology-selected sperm injection (IMSI) is a procedure in which spermatozoa are digitally analysed prior to injection into the oocyte. This increases the chance of selecting a good sperm, but physiological selection is not carried out. Here, we combine physiological pre-selection of spermatozoa with IMSI for patients with idiopathic infertility. Methods: 290 patients, attending for assisted reproduction, were prepared for oocyte retrieval using standard controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols. Spermatozoa were preselected for ICSI with either digitalised morphological selection (IMSI) or IMSI combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) pre-selection techniques (pIMSI). Biological and clinical parameters were recorded and the clinical pregnancy rate noted. Results: HA- pre-selection of mature spermatozoa led to a significant increase in pregnancy and implantation rates in patients treated with IMSI. Conclusions: These data suggest that the combination of HA pre-determination of spermatozoa and advanced morphological analysis enables sperm selection on both a physiological and morphological basis and increases the probability of selecting a high quality spermatozoa.

Quantitative Phase Contrast in Holographic Microscopy Through the Numerical Manipulation of the Retrieved Wavefronts

Abstract: In this chapter we show how digital holography (DH) can be efficiently used as a free and noninvasive investigation tool capable of performing quantitative and qualitative mapping of biological samples. A detailed description of the recent methods based on the possibility offered by DH to numerically manage the reconstructed wavefronts is reported. Depending on the sample and on the investigation to be performed it is possible, by a single acquired image, to recover information on the optical path length changes and, choosing the more suitable numerical method, to obtain quantitative phase map distributions. The progress achieved in the reconstruction methods will certainly find useful applications in the field of the biological analysis.

Characterization of an electrically induced refractive index change in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon multistack waveguide

Abstract: Electrically induced phase modulation is characterized for the first time in a waveguide-integrated Fabry-Perot (FP) resonating cavity based both on an index- and conductivity high-contrast amorphous silicon/amorphous silicon carbide (a-Si:H/a-SiC:H) multistack.

All-silicon integrated photodetector for near infrared wavelengths based on the internal photoemission effect

Abstract: We propose a near infrared all-silicon integrated photodetector based on the internal photoemission effect. Device is charactered by a responsivity of 0.08 mA/W at 1550 nm for a reverse bias of 1 V.

Digital holographic self-referencing quantitative phase microscopy

Abstract: A numerical method to easily obtain a quantitative phase map of objects flowing in micro-fluidic devices using a digital holographic microscope is shown. The presented technique is called digital self-referencing because the retrieved wavefront is folded in order to subtract the area outside the micro-fluidic channel from the area where the sample is.